ARCHIVE: Volume Two

SHARING AWARENESS WEEKLY
EIDO, because of its visionary core, has, in essence, had to be a one-man out working for the past three decades. Now after 23 years waiting upon the Lord in a personal desert, the first true signs of green pasture have appeared in my heart. Discovery of what God has done deep within is being revealed daily and I humbly invite you to join me, on my journey, 999 Words at a time. My hope, for any reader, is that each main article will add, to you & me, an ever-deepening spectrum of insight into the Heart of God our Father & what He is representing through His EIDO Vision.
The Call to EIDO is not about me, it's about God's Plan For You!

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:"
                                                       Ephesians 1:17 KJ

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Full Transcripts - Main Message From All Emails:
 
ARCHIVE Volume 2 : Issues 0021 - 0040

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ISSUE 021:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 19
Issued: 1st August 2017

Defaced Week 11

I arose yesterday to find, on my phone, the photos I had requested of a Ugandan Pastor friends one-day old daughter.

I marvelled again as I looked at this cute little girl, the wonder of life that every baby born is a minuscule container of tremendous potential, made in the image & likeness of God, the full completeness of which is only achievable in & through God.

Right now she is oblivious to all that lies ahead as she commences the journey to the discovery of her unique position in life & hopefully to God who fearfully & wonderfully created her.

Last week we concluded with how acceptance of Christ brings about Spiritual Rebirth for our dead spirit man comes Alive in Christ.

The Bible says we are then born again & become a new creation in Him, for old things have passed away & all things are new again.

So begins a brand new life, but now one containing an opportunity to cultivate a personal desire for spiritual maturity by abiding in Christ through The Truth He brings to us.

John 8:31-32 NKJV
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

In Christ we now turn away from what we were to begin a new life of repentance, learning to look to God in all things while hopefully embracing the shifting of our paradigms or perspectives on life.

1 Corinthians 13:10
10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

In the beginning, we retain much of our inground soulish perspectives along with a newly acquired & fledgeling spiritual viewpoint & this fact, regardless of our age, makes us new spiritual children.

Spiritual maturing only commences as conviction produces a personal acceptance & commitment to voluntarily cease to keep or claim our formerly held perspectives as His Light of Truth reveals it to us.

1 Corinthians 13:11
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Thus begins a brand new life journey, hopefully now focused toward Seeking God's Face & His enabling by way of the Strength in Christ we now possess in His Name.

As we learn to Obey Our Father God, a heartfelt desire begins to develop & grow for His Will To Be Done in us [earth] as it is in Heaven.

Remember that disobedience of God defaced His Image in our souls & only obedience to God through Christ can restore it.

Salvation is the reconciling with God through Christ & His Shed Blood enlivening the spirit man through our redemption, but here we are speaking of the restoring of God's Image to our souls.

Having to remain in these bodies of death we now encounter constant tribulation as we go forward in this life of moving on back to God.

It's a continual trial of our faith, for being Awoken In Christ, is as if a soldier awoke to find himself alone in the midst of the enemies camp.

First belief brings us into the Unity of The Body through Christ, but we all have individual paths to tread as there are no group excursions or discounts on the road to glory.

One day in Uganda a large group of us were led for quite some time down a well-worn narrow track through the grass, towards the Pastor's home, where we were to have our lunch following a Morning Service.

Just as it is with our spiritual journey in Christ, the narrow track had relegated us into a single file as we silently followed the leader to our destination.

Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV
13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

A group, even if taking different paths, moving in single file with a shared objective become unified by the common destiny.

It is not unity on the journey that makes us one, but rather it is us all having the one destination.

Jesus, our shared Destination, is what makes us the worldwide Body of Christ, the Family of God.

As I have previously stated, Spiritual Truth most often is found in the reverse of what is our commonly accepted view of this world.

I remember the first time I saw an ambulance having the word ambulance written in reverse across its bonnet.
 
I thought it unusual & wondered why until I saw one in the rearview mirror of my car.
 
The mirror reflected what was wrong & made it right simply by providing a different perspective of the same thing.

In driving a motor vehicle, our primary concentration is on where we are going & what is ahead of us.

Due to traffic around us, we often look to the left or right exterior mirrors when attempting a lane change or a turn.

However, we do not tend to use the centre interior mirror anywhere near as much, in fact in some closed-in vehicles they are unusable.

Just as we are in life we are preoccupied with where we are going & what is around us, but not so interested in where we have been.

From birth, we learn that life is supposed to essentially be onwards & upwards with no looking back unless you need to.

This newly born Ugandan child is starting on a journey forward to discover, to learn, to love, to share, to procreate, to rear, to release, to reflect & finally to depart this world.

Just a few short days ago she was in her mother's womb being knitted together by & with God.

Psalm 139:13 KJV
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

For every one of us, our first cry of life signalled our banishment from the Presence of God, just as surely as it happened to Adam & Eve when sent from the Garden of Eden.

Without Christ, we walked through life having our perspective founded on the knowledge of good & evil to outwork our lives with an erratically steered conscience causing us to become 'self-gods' presiding over what is ours while making individual judgements on life without any Godly input.

Our lives became like centre court at Wimbledon where our life plays out before us as we sit atop the umpire's chair giving judgement.

Our lives are something akin to a driver without an interior rearview mirror having no sight of where he has come from, only concerned with moving forward or adjusting the path to recalibrate hopefully for a more rewarding and self-satisfying destination.

Then when Christ enters our lives, we can easily just make him another part of the landscape of our lives, he may even become a rest stop for us that we decide when to visit, or only when we are worn out.

We can even place him all over the view of our lives, like a tint on a car window.

Believing he enhances the view of 'our' life or image, convincing ourselves he came to increase our success & rewards in life, to his glory of course & thereby validating our motives to our own minds.

The Truth is that Jesus Christ Our Lord came to be the rearview mirror in our life view.

To reflect His Glory, to reveal Truth, to reveal Himself, to induce Repentance, to be with Us, to reveal Our Father, to reveal His Spirit, to redirect our Souls, to reveal His Wisdom, to reveal His Knowledge, to reveal His Understanding & to Reveal God's Purpose to us.

His rearview mirror then becomes our new soul life Kingdom view, paradigm or perspective as we physically now pass through this life, in the world but no longer of it.

John 17:13-19 NKJV
13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Surely He is our mirror to the Reflection of All Glory. Amen!

ISSUE 022:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 20
Issued: 8th August 2017
 
Defaced - Week 12

Last week concluded with my giving a brief analogy of moving through life and the driving of a car.

In this modern world, to possess a motor vehicle of our own is almost a universal desire simply because of what it can immediately afford to us.

To become involved here with trying to explain in any depth the psychological effects upon us of owning a motor vehicle would soon become a volume in itself.

I am sure we can all quickly come up with some of the major ones of giving us a sense of ownership, power, control, success, freedom, attachment, passion, devotion, silent companionship, personality, superiority & domination, to name but a few.

 This one material object can most certainly afford us an ability to 'play out' so much that is innate to our fallen nature & I'm sure we all could easily add more perceived aspects to the same train of thought that I have briefly exercised above.

Motor vehicles are now deemed crucial to millions of people, far beyond being just a means of transport, ranging from being cherished by some to becoming a major ingredient to the upholding of their self-esteem for others.

Particularly in the Western World, there is just so much materialism available to us today, but out of all the objects at our disposal, the motor vehicle is simultaneously one of the most taken for granted yet thoroughly embraced to the point of being a cannot live without objects.

To help us drown out the many hours of boredom & tediousness we find in life, we forever search for & surround ourselves with a multitude of entertainment gadgets that can unknowingly become more of a curse than a blessing to us.

Much of what is available to us today only serves to become like the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good & evil.

The world [the serpent] comes to us & subtly alludes that all is there for the taking & charms man into seeing it full of the pleasant rewards he convinces himself he is most deserving of having.

Our partaking of much of it serves only to falsify an attainment of our need for the acceptance of men, yet through it the world is simply luring us into a false wisdom & sense of security.

We become somehow comforted in the acceptance of men, when in fact we need to know the acceptance of God, who created us.

Having tasted of it, we feel that it is good & pleasing to our eye & we partake of it, which then only serves to give rise to the false gratification of our basic needs while subtly giving life to fleshly lusts that can so easily begin to consume & control us.

The Bible says that our soul knows very well but if all we have is the knowledge of good & evil then very often we are powerless to stop the world encroaching upon our lives & like Eve we share & enjoy the deceptions with others in our immediate world.

Readily seen is the foolishness of a single man, but united foolishness in any form, especially when mixed with influence, power or authority, becomes a shared sense of false wisdom.

Which when delivered in a smooth & persuasive manner can so readily deceive many through the tickling of ears causing them to accept co-ownership of it through not having exercised proper discernment on the matter.

Just as a building is only as sound as its foundation, so it is even with the counsel of many.

No matter how we want to try & justify it in our minds, the knowledge of good & evil when devoid of the Presence Of True Righteousness is all evil.

Disobedience of the first man thus brought evil upon all men for we all descend from the one seed that was created by God in His Image & in His Likeness.

For can a man take the seed of an apple & hope to grow a fig tree from it.

1 Peter 1:24 NKJV
24 because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,

Hence, that is why without The Law man failed to know sin & even when having The Law failed to keep it.

For we all were born into this world corruptible having no Righteousness in us or capability to attain it until we come to receive Jesus into our hearts.

1 Peter 1:23-24 NKJV
23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,

So it was that Our Father sent His Son to pay the price, once & for all & in doing so fulfilled every tittle of The Law & the Prophets on our behalf.

Matthew 5:17-18 NKJV
17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

Even as Christians we need to understand that this world is still feeding on the fruit of that forbidden tree, the lure is still set to tempt us to be driven forward instead of being led home.

As Christians, patience & soberness are attributes, we need to aspire to rather than readily discard them as detrimental to our keeping up with the 'drivenness' of this world in fear of losing relevance to it.

We were not left here for God to improve our position in the race of life so that we can finally be seen as winners, somehow believing that the 'glow' of our success will draw men to Him.

Rather we were left here to take up & walk in the Love affair He started with us & live in the hope of its reflection falling upon this dying world, for it is in seeing that reflection that souls receive Salvation.

I have seen & believe that there is a short period during every woman's pregnancy where she positively 'glows' as the real maternal spiritual love between her & her child connects & it has an effect on her outward appearance & those who witness it.

Even though it's a rare privilege to see it is captivating & kind of takes your breath away as you inwardly reassess what is truly valuable in life.

As Christians, we should all live in the hope of moments in our lives that the world around us sees the Glow of His Love in us that they may inwardly reassess what they hold truly valuable in their life.

ISSUE 023:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 21
Issued: 15th August 2017

Defaced - Week 13
As Christians, the Bible tells us that we are still in this world but no longer of it.

Thus, to be regarded as truly being so, we must take hold of what our spiritual rebirth afforded us in giving us a sight of who is the actual 'driver' of this world & the real force behind our instinctive way of thinking & doing as humans.

We need to actively allow ourselves to become transformed by the renewing of our minds through Emmanuel, God With Us.

Romans 12:2 KJV

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

In receiving salvation not only was God revealed to us but also he who holds this world in his hand was shown, making way for the Spirit of God within us to begin the unveiling of his methods of deceit embedded within our minds.

The foundation of his deception took root after having convinced Adam & Eve of the sweetness of good & evil's fruit, a single act in which he not only tricked them but all of us who follow.

For man was deceived now into accepting to be judge over his actions & to rule his destiny on the foundation of a deceptive lie.

Genesis 3:6 KJV

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

This knowledge of good & evil is, in fact, the agitator that continually robs souls of peace & yet our minds still convince us that it is a foundational necessity to orderly life & fundamental to our thinking, our morals & our culture.

Embracing it as wisdom, it is truthfully a product of the unwise.

2 Corinthians 10:12

12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

The fruit of the tree of knowledge of good & evil is a cosy deceptive bed upon which to lie for those who consider themselves 'good'.

That is why an understanding of why salvation is needed finds firmer root in souls once ingrained with evil than those that luxuriated in their relative goodness.

It is far easier to detect even a dim source of light in a dark room than a brighter light in an already well-lit one.

For none are all evil, neither is anyone all good, but rather his world, this world, spins us to & fro keeping up the deception, blinding sinners to it & saints to any real deepening Knowledge of The Truth.

Some years back I received a Word telling me that we just do not realise the absolute insidiousness of 'self' & the work it does deep within us.

Today, I looked for a definition of insidiousness & the following best describes what I felt He was saying to me on that day: "operating or proceeding in an inconspicuous or seemingly harmless way but actually with grave effect:"

I was told that day that self enacts a far more insidious work within us than any of us can even begin to deeply understand because I believe it is held upright in us through the deceptive power of the knowledge of good & evil which continually warps our view.

For simply put, did not the eating of it release the very concept of self within man?

Genesis 3:9-11 KJV

9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

Before the fall Adam & Eve were not aware of their nakedness & neither did they know anything of unrighteousness.

Their will flowed as one with God; His Will was their will.

After the fall they were found now knowing their own nakedness, having covered themselves with fig leaves & on hearing God approaching now had hidden amongst the trees.

Were not their actions a perfect example of how the knowledge of good & evil foundationally supports the false concept of self.

They now thought they 'knew' & now used their own 'knowledge' to recognise their nakedness & their own 'will' to attempt to cover it up.

They saw their physical nakedness but failed to appreciate that they had now defaced God's Image in their souls & neither did they recognise the death of their spirit.

Knowledge of good & evil always plays into the hands of self but fear not for if we continue to allow self to deceive us about the full truth of it, which we will, our salvation is not endangered, for forgiveness is ours in Christ.

We must remember that we are working out our salvation in Him. Jesus always comes to man in the same way He approached & dealt with every person & situation when on this earth - in Righteousness, Love & Forgiveness.

Therefore we need to try to approach & encounter all we meet while Acknowledging His Righteousness in us as fully capable of releasing His Love through us, with our only qualification being His Forgiveness of us.

If not, the knowledge of good & evil will continue to shroud our minds disabling any real ability to receive deepening wisdom & revelation in the knowledge of Him.

As just one example we need to understand that Goodness does not simply flow by the doing of what man deems to be good things but rather through us allowing His Goodness to emanate out of us.

Have we yet to understand that every selfish action, no matter how small, creates a backwash that unsettles the lives of those who suffer because of it?

Whether our action is intentional or not we manage to make agitation an automatic process in accordance with the very aim of his deviousness.

Every one of us is victim to it in our flesh, but in Christ, we now have the ability to take hold of the Truth of His Word & battle daily to defeat it in us.

1 John 4:4 KJV 4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Keep in mind that the Bible says He came looking for us for we were the ones lost.

Luke 19:10 KJV

10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

In these days & this season, we more than ever need to 'See' how relying on our sense of good & evil rather than actively seeking Righteousness will severely hamper our coming to 'Know' a Deepening Truth of The Word.

John 8:30-32 KJV

30 As he spake these words, many believed on him. 31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

ISSUE 024:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 22
Issued: 22nd August 2017

Defaced - Week 14

Here in Australia, one of our less popular sports centres on the racing of greyhound dogs for commercial purposes.  

These dogs are trained to chase a mechanical lure simply for competition & ultimately some possible financial gain, as is done in horse racing, through gambling on the results.

To enable this & increase the chances of winning the trainers draw upon the dogs' natural tendency to something called prey-drive, which is the instinctive inclination of a carnivore to find, pursue & capture prey.

If one wanted to domesticate a greyhound, then they would be trained to curb this natural instinct, but for the interests of this 'sport', they work these dogs to heighten it.

Each race begins with the dogs enclosed in their starting boxes.

The organisers present a 'prey' to the dogs, being a mechanical lure run at high speed & suspended from a track attached to the inside rail of the enclosed race course.

As the 'prey' comes into the dogs' sight, they are automatically released to race after it but never allowed to catch it.

In doing this, they are utilising the dogs' heightened prey drive thus inducing them to compete more keenly for the same target in an organised event designed to create a race from which they can determine a winner.

In all predators the prey-drive follows an inevitable sequence:
Search & Eye the prey;
Stalk & Chase the prey;
Bite & Grab the prey;
Dissect & Consume the prey.

One meaning of the word predator is:
someone who follows people to harm them or commit a crime against them:

Is this not a perfect description of our enemy, the one who comes to steal, kill & destroy.

John 10:10a  King James 2000 Bible
The thief comes not, but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:

Being an evil predator means he:
searches & eyes us his prey;
stalks & chases us his prey;

But Praise the Lord just as is the case with the greyhound dogs he has no ability to;
bite & grab us his prey;
dissect or consume us his prey.

His objective has always been to coerce men through his lies & deceptions to remain in & increase upon their disobedient & sinful ways.

He works to keep those who are lost to The Truth in the blindness of his deceptions, or to continually try to coerce the found into fateful disobedience as he did with Adam & Eve.

Genesis 3:6 KJV
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for  food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Now, as I see it, there is a lesson here for all of us.

Eve while being contained in the protected environment of God's Provision, also had a 'lure' presented into her sight.

For the serpent came subtly & being the predator he is, drew upon her 'human prey-drive' to coerce her & Adam to eat the forbidden fruit.

Anyone who has loved, or even taken some real notice of animals, knows of their many similarities to humans, one such being the sharing of many of the same ailments & diseases as men.

We need to take note that on the Sixth Day God Created first the animals & then man from the very same earth & as long as we are still in the body we will continue to inhabit the same earth with them.

However, God declared flesh & spirit, heaven & earth should be put together in man, thus making us in His image & likeness.

When Adam & Eve freely spent their days roaming in the Garden of Eden, their natural 'human prey-drive' was invoked.

For they searched & eyed [God's Creation all around],
they stalked & chased [the wonder of the fauna],
they bit & grabbed [the wonder of the flora]
& they dissected & consumed [for sustenance].

Meanwhile, the serpent, being an evil predator:
searched & eyed Eve;
stalked her & chased her down;
& then came subtly to deceive her into doing what he could not.

Being totally unable to inject his poison directly into her he preyed upon the innocence of her innate human prey-drive to deceive her out of her free will.

He needed to lure her into disobeying the One Command God had given them not to eat of his poison, the knowledge of good & evil.

For even there he only had an ability to search & chase down but no ability to bite or consume God's Children.

He needed to coerce them into exercising their own will in disobedience to God's for his poison to take effect upon man.

He had no power, only a voice, so he used it to lie & deceive, the same method he still uses to coerce men into doing his will, to keep them from God.

Fallen man, now left to his own devices is like that pack of dogs, continuously drawn into competing for all kinds of lures, often gaining more self-satisfaction & pride from the fight for position or even just competing than actually attaining the goal.

Go anywhere in this world & you will find hilltops occupied by the privileged few, the slopes by those chasing image, fame or fortune & the valleys filled with those upholding the rest & the down trodden of society barely existing at the lowest level.

In this world, we all either dream of, long for, strive for or drive ourselves toward moving up the ladder of success & while the lure of self is constant the targets can be infinitely variable.

The truth of this world is that for every personal success achieved, for every ladder climbed, for every mountain conquered, so many others were required & often abused in its fulfilment.

For just like those dogs, we all have widely differing levels of ability so, on any given day, so many are declared or declare themselves as not being good enough to join 'the race', but we all try to partake at times [seen as the losers].

Then there are the 'leaders' forever focussed on the goal [lure] & therefore consistently active in the race promoting & aspiring to image & gain [seen as the winners].

For as the serpent told Eve our eyes would open & we would be as gods knowing good & evil, but we need to see & know that that was the lie & the deception which is still consuming humankind.

Genesis 3:5 KJV
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

So now through having this knowledge adrift amongst us, we now possess & use the measurement tool devised by evil for evil, which God never intended for us to have

We then become consumed through the constant lure for us to continually self-improve & be motivated toward 'success'  through its false understanding that man should be master of his destiny.

So it is that humans are continually lured to strive or hope for unreachables, the greatest being to find the meaning of life anywhere that does not involve acceptance of the One True Living God only to then wallow in the disappointments of forsaken dreams or to be imprisoned to our desires.

Nothing is as real as it seems, as 'painted' to us or in us & therefore images are shattered in our hearts every day.

How many believe they are living 'the dream' yet have no idea the price they paid & are still paying to maintain it.

How many in reaching the pinnacle of their ambition now realise no further goal in life since nothing is as expected &/or through now being plagued with silent guilt regarding the methods they employed to achieve it.

How many, have awoken to the realisation that they have spent their lives continuously being & are still, in fact, being lured into dead ends only to be left feeling useless & devoid of hope.

Praise God for His Grace Abounds to us forever & is available to us no matter where we are right now or where we have been. Hallelujah!

Jesus Loves Us & God's Ways contain the only answers to all of this deception we face, whether coming from without or within our hearts.

ISSUE 025:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 23
Issued: 29th August 2017

Defaced - Week 15

Well, believe it or not, here we are now into the fifteenth week of delving into our first point of focus - Defaced.

Hopefully, if you read Newsletter Issues numbered 2 to 9 you remember from where this journey initially started.

A question arose of how my extremely quiet grandfather & my autistic grandson both managed to convey real love for me through using an approach usually employed for gaining the opposite effect.

I was led to see that in essence, they both came to me as:
Distant - Silent - Defaced
being contrary to normal social behaviour usually founded on
Image - Communication - Closeness.

The question raised was, could there possibly be any Godly principle within their actions from which we can learn new revelation.

Further, I related how I've so often found the start to my journey in understanding a Truth in God is to begin by assessing it from the opposite perspective to how the Word of God speaks it to us.

Let me try to give you some further understanding of what I mean.

2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

It tickles the ears of our vanity to hear & readily accept that we now are, for he is & the primary task now lies in ensuring its full utilisation to the maximum personal ability & benefit, all for God, of course, having been convinced that our successes shall surely glorify his name.

The root of such thinking is worldly & its principles can be seen fully utilised wherever motivational & positive thinking is being embraced & practised.

So we relish in accepting that we have finally been given what we deserve, being power, love & sound mind so we can now walk without fear if only we will believe it anything can now be possible to us.

If we ever come away from bearing too much of a resemblance to the Pharisee to one more of the publican, then we would start to read it from another perspective & begin our journey to understanding it in Truth.

We would then see first the need for the transforming
of our unsound mind to come more into line with the Mind of Christ.

Then the need for our selfish love to be dissolved
by His Love flowing to & through us to others.

Finally, the need to be humble,
to boldly come into His Presence,
forever drawing nigh to Him & He to us,
as His Glorious Power at work reveals itself over time,
as we grow into one with Him, as the Body of Christ.

In drawing into His Word from the proper perspective then we will go about doing His Will without fear of the enemy, or our own vanity undoing His Good Work in us.

Jonah 2:8 (KJV)
They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

May by His Grace we realise that in 2 Timothy 1:7 & throughout the Bible, the spirit God has given us is the Spirit of Jesus Alive in us, from whom we now in redemption can draw our strength & every other need to Serve Our Father.

For that is the True Unity, to be one with Our Father's Divine Purpose.

Jesus is now & eternally will be the Head & we the body, so let us soberly walk the narrow path by following in His Footsteps.

The Israelites camped in the valley while God met with Moses on the mountaintop for God's Rightful Place is Always Exalted above us, as we all fall so far short of His Glory.

As Christians, we should readily imagine seeing God Exalted & Enthroned, raised up before us as we Seek His Face.

For His Every Word, Spiritually lays a path or step for us to come into further closeness with Him.

Hebrews 7:19 (KJV)
For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.

God Speaks from Divine Perspective, the active pursuit of which, draws us away from our worldly views & attitudes into becoming transformed by the renewing of our minds.

We must learn to humble ourselves before Him, to Exalt Him & His Ways more each & every day.

Romans 12:2 (KJV)
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of  God.

Some weeks back I gave the example of seeing an ambulance coming toward you as you are driving & seeing the word ambulance written in reverse across its bonnet as it often is these days.

On first sight, our senses immediately challenge our mind for it is not presented in any normal way & therefore is not instantly recognised or understood in our minds.

However, when the same ambulance appears in your rearview mirror a totally opposite perspective is presented that engenders instant comprehension.

This is simply because the letters are now seen in the correct order to spell the word 'ambulance' as you have already seen & known it to be.

A pertinent point to realise here is that absolutely nothing has changed in the physical realm, the only change is the way of your seeing & perceiving in your mind.

Once we understand that mirrors naturally reverse the image of what is before them, our mind is now justifiably satisfied & our natural reaction in the main is now appeased if we should view it in reverse again.

Despite this fact, there is always a slight natural irking that goes on momentarily deep within our senses because the first perception is that it is wrong, which is the truth.

How long it now lasts is in direct correlation to how quickly our mind can reconnect to any stored sound reasoning as to why the wrong should now become acceptable to our mind.

Meditate & ponder upon that fact alone & you might begin on a journey to a true understanding of why God did not want mankind to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good & evil.

Adam & Eve were in captivity to the Love of God, not held in ignorance but rather their innocence, for their own protection.

Not so hard to understand if you are a parent is it?

Every parent understands the pain & anguish experienced in letting them go from the nest, to have to stand back & watch them now fight their own battles in life.

May we learn to long for what is seen in the Spiritual 'rearview' mirror, the different perspective Jesus brings to our lives, so as to be readied for the turning back to our lost innocence, to the Promised Land of no more pain nor sorrow.

ISSUE 026:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 24
Issued: 5th September 2017

Defaced - Week 16

In conclusion last week, it was stated that before The Fall Adam & Eve were one with God, their innocence protected through His Love & Divine Presence within them.

Innocence is purity:
the state of being unspoilt by sin or moral wrong;

It was the absolute lack of knowledge of good & evil in which their innocence consisted, residing in & laid upon their total obedience to His Divine Will & Righteous Ways.

Possessing no concept of good or evil, they had no ability or need to judge anyone or anything for God's Righteousness reigned in them through His Spirit being Alive in theirs & His Image & Likeness etched upon their souls.

Light consumes darkness, but darkness cannot consume light, for darkness exists only through lack of light.

Therefore to them everything existed & was constituted in the Righteousness of God.

Then, through their disobedient act of eating the fruit of the knowledge of good & evil they Defaced the Obedience they previously possessed, consisting in the Image of God within them. <Matthew Henry Paraphrase>

2 Timothy 2:13
If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

Christians gain Blessed Assurance upon receiving the revelation of God's inability to ever deny His own nature.

In the Garden, their purity or innocence had absolutely nothing to do with their ability to judge, as sinful man does, of what is considered to be good & what is evil in his sight, for they were living in an entirely Righteous or Pure environment consisting in & of God Himself.

Oneness with Him through Christ within.

In this earthly world, founded on the knowledge of good & evil, most of us similarly try to protect the innocence of our children as they grow.

At the same time, most would try to ensure that their children gain knowledge in preparation for their leaving our protection.

We strive that they may become well founded upon our views & morals in the hope of them becoming self-sustained adults well able to avoid anyone's consideration of them as naive.

We try to do everything we can to ensure every opportunity is afforded them to gain the most from this life, for we expect that they will achieve more than us or even go beyond the unfulfilled dreams we held deep within us.

In other words, while under our protection, we desire, cherish & protect their innocence & purity yet simultaneously encourage & promote their independent natures & abilities in preparation for their entering into life's race, in a world far from innocence.

This perspective or paradigm of life serves as a pattern or model, being a set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitute a way of viewing reality for that part of the general community that shares the principles.

It is the common perspective of life as seen through the eye of self-preservation & self-interest but, by its very nature, can never be aligned with God's Righteousness.

For it is forever played out in an environment where evil is made to be good, & good made to be evil to extract the desired result for the satisfaction of selfish interests.

It's only through the Love, Grace [Power] & Mercy of God that those who receive Jesus Christ as the Son of God can declare true redemption through His Shed Blood & begin a journey into Truth to discover the total deception that the knowledge of good & evil is.

Their sins are forgiven providing a way to embrace God's Righteousness again through Christ Alive in them.

A living relationship with Him produces an ongoing process of the transforming of the mind to the Mind Of Christ through the Power of His Spirit & Divine Revelation of The Truth of His Word.

He drew nigh to us that we might have the Way to draw nigh to Him, that He would draw nigh to us again as His Word Promises.

The more we continue the process we are brought by The Truth into a closer & therefore deeper relationship with God & an increasing acceptance of His Divine Perspective as opposed to the worldly paradigm.

So begins the ongoing battle of the two paradigms, not of good & evil as you might think, but rather between the worldly paradigm instilled in our minds as truth & God's Divine Perspective of The Truth.

As the illustration above demonstrates our paradigm or prevailing view of things, is inherently contrary to His simply because self in us fights for what we perceive, rather than bow down to acknowledge that what He says is true is The Truth.

If that were two humans in the above depiction, both would be correct from their individual perspectives but for one to acknowledge the truth of what the other says would require them to concede honour & accept a higher power.

Therein lies the quandary man brought upon himself through gaining the knowledge of good & evil.

It becomes a standoff based upon individual perception gained from knowledge & understanding acquired in life.

In our physical world we rely on our five primary senses:
The nervous system has a specific sensory nervous system, and a sense organ, dedicated to each sense. Humans have a multitude of senses.

Sight (vision),
Hearing (audition),
Taste (gustation),
Smell (olfaction),
Touch (somatosensation)
are the five traditionallyrecognised senses.
Sense - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense

As stated our human senses are part of our overall nervous system & therefore if something is perceived as wrong or out of kilter with personal understanding, we instinctively react to it in ways ranging anywhere from a mild inward reaction to a plainly apparent outward one.

Surely I am not alone in feeling completely out of sorts with myself & my own mind when someone's actions and/or attitudes are completely foreign to my ability or capacity even to comprehend, much less understand their attitude or behaviour.

Such situations promote an overwhelming sense of bewilderment & confusion in us until some sense of reasoning can be restored in our minds to appease it.

Many things can change the situation, for the presumed pressure for a need to understand could subside or the problem could just dissipate into nothing or the receiving of The Truth could set you free from it.

Imagine the Apostles when they saw Jesus coming toward their boat walking on the windswept waters.

Matthew 14:26-27 (KJV)
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It isaspirit; and
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. they cried out for fear.

It is these quiet operations within our human psyche that continually rule our reactions in accordance to what we 'know' & have learned.

Psyche
The human soul, mind, or spirit. Synonyms: soul, spirit, (inner) self, innermost self, (inner) ego, true being, essential nature, life force, vital force, inner man/woman, persona, identity, personality, individuality, makeup, subconscious, mind, intellect;
Reference: Google - synonyms for psyche

Just as God had forewarned them, Adam & Eve along with all mankind had their eyes opened through the eating of the forbidden fruit, making them be as gods, now knowing good & evil.

Each man, in his own mind, now became the master of the mountain of his own life in a sophisticated, worldly system designed to lure us into all manner of things through the sense of needing to self-preserve & self-promote in the midst of individual competitiveness.

We need to open ourselves to God that He may truly become Lord of our lives more everyday, that through such acknowledgement in our hearts Holy Spirit might continue the process of shifting our paradigm that began the moment we first believed.

Only in the Light of The Truth can our knowledge & understanding be transformed causing our psyche to be rewired into an ever increasing acceptance of the knowledge of Truth thus setting us free to Truly Worship Him in spirit & truth.

ISSUE 027:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 25
Issued: 12th September 2017

Defaced - Week 17

In Week 1 of this study of 'defaced,' I wrote the following:
"In light of the fact it's an inappropriate use of the word, the question now is, why did Holy Spirit lead me to write defaced. The answer to that I believe can only be found with a shift in our paradigm or perspective."
 
Indeed we are now in Week 17 & I am being led to take a closer look at the words 'paradigm' & 'perspective'.
 
Paradigm is a less commonly used expression than perspective & both can be loosely used to describe the way we 'look at' or 'see' something.
 
However, they do have different meanings in the actual use of each word.
 
A Dictionary quotes that Paradigm is an example, model or pattern, a conceptual framework for scientific theory, a typical example or pattern, a pattern or model of something.
 
Whereas, Perspective is an observer's point of view of objects in relation to each other, a balanced or objective view of a situation.
 
To my non-literary mind, I see the difference as something like the following.
 
Sometimes, after a politician powerfully & convincingly expounds his viewpoint on a subject, you may find your perspective on the matter changed after giving some balanced & objective consideration to the views he expressed.
 
However, in doing this nothing has changed in the politician's paradigm of the conceptual framework of democracy within a Democratic Society upon which he originally founded his political aspirations.  
 
Our views on all manner of things can change easily & readily at times, for any acceptance of a new argument or opinion demands with it a change of our perspective.
 
On the other hand, a change to our paradigm on something is quite a different matter & takes so much more to bring about a real willingness to consider change, much less any acceptance of it.
 
Now at this point let us remind ourselves of what the primary subject matter in these newsletters is "Draw Nigh Unto Me ...".
 
James 4:8 (KJV)
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
 
James tells us that if you Draw Nigh to God, He will Draw Nigh to you, a process when continually repeated brings us into an ever deepening relationship with Him.
 
Every relationship has a beginning & the Truth is that we did not start our relationship with Him but He with us.
 
For it was Our Lord the Good Shepherd who came looking for each one of us lost, seeking us out to Draw Nigh to us that we might draw nigh to God.
 
Ezekiel 34:11
For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.
 
For me, I know that I was not looking for Him yet He sought me out & found me as I was shaving on the morning of Tuesday 22nd November 1988.
 
In the blink of the eye, He Drew Nigh to me & I drew nigh to Him.
 
Instantly He Created an eternal relationship in a moment of time right there in the privacy of my bathroom, a moment from which I have never been the same again.
 
So it has been for every person, who deep in their heart has ever received Jesus Christ as the Son of God & Lord & Saviour over their lives, in what the Bible describes as to be Born Again.
 
In that fleeting moment, our spirit man came Alive in Christ effecting a monumental shift of paradigm within our soul that caused our psyche to receive rather than rebel, opening up our whole being, body, soul & spirit to its Creator.
 
Is it any wonder that in that moment of eternal interaction the Bible tells us that the Heavens Celebrate the return of a lost one.
 
Luke 15:10 KJV
10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
 
Now let us concentrate on the comment above re us having undergone a monumental shift of paradigm in that first moment of acceptance of Christ.
 
I know that for me those first hours & days seemed like I knew everything, yet I knew nothing, for what I knew was embedded in my spirit, not my mind.
 
I was now born again, starting over in a new life, now capable in Him, to receive spiritual knowledge & understanding from the Holy Spirit.
 
As a young boy, I was raised as a Catholic, which founded a good moral base within me & a mind knowledge of God but never a personal spiritual relationship with Him.
 
Earlier in this series, I declared that the way of the world lies in Image, Communication & Closeness.
 
As a young boy, I witnessed those in the Church upholding foremost their Image as Catholics, communicating amongst themselves the doctrines of the Church & living in the unity of the common identity that their Catholicism afforded them.
 
Their faith lay more in their works, ceremonies & rituals & ability to maintain a religious image.
 
I make these remarks about Catholics only because that was the only religious system I knew personally.
 
However, the same applies to every religious endeavour more or less, simply due to the lack of any true spiritual relationship with the Living God.
 
Basically, it is enacting of the ways of the world with a Christian 'flavour' & can be found even within born again Church communities if no actual spiritual relationship exists or disobedience is left unchallenged.
 
John 4:23 (KJV)
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
 
"For the Father seeketh such to worship him."
 
The Apostle Paul described true worship perfectly in Romans 12:1-2 KJV:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
 
Furthermore, Jesus Himself gave us the first commandment:
 
Mark 12:30 (KJV)
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
 
In truly receiving Jesus as the Lord & King any Commandment becomes our desire & requires us to seek Obedience through Him.
 
We have seen earlier that the disobedience [sin] of Adam & Eve Defaced Obedience which was consisted in The Image of God within them, causing the Spirit of Christ to leave them, their spirit man now dead.
 
As one receives Jesus Christ into their hearts, their spirit man is brought back to life as Jesus Comes Alive in them, thus reconstituting Obedience to the Image of God carried within the soul.
 
This is the monumental shift of paradigm that occurs in the soul of a saved man as his inherent predilection to disobey God turns into a desire to Obey Him & His Word.
 
Saved by the Grace & Mercy of God, Redeemed in the Blood of the Lamb, Obedience consisting again in the Image of God within & Forgiveness providing the path to the transformation of mind to the Mind of Christ.
 
Disobedience now 'Defaced by Obedience to God '  is the first step of a True Christian's Journey to 'See' Christ & 'Know' Truth.

ISSUE 028:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 26
Issued: 19th September 2017

Defaced - Week 18

Nothing spectacular nor outwardly outstanding happened to or around me on that fateful day that Jesus Christ came into my life.

I was simply going about my daily chores in preparation to go to work when suddenly while shaving I looked up into the mirror.

I looked myself in the eye & spoke to myself saying: "It was not my fault, it was the Catholics, they did not have what I needed".

In that blink of an eye, I felt a tremendous guilt lift from me, the very existence of which much less the real weight of it, I had never consciously known, until that very moment in time.

When I was fifteen years old I had merely drifted away from Church attendance, as many did in the sixties, taking a sense of good morals & nothing much else with me.

Now some twenty-three years later on that day & after completing my morning ablutions, neither I or any of our four children were aware that anything out of the ordinary had happened to me.

Certainly, as I left the bathroom I was already feeling unusually at peace with the world as my wife walked past me & I made a simple request of her.

Being a Tuesday it was her Women's Bible Study morning, a group she had joined some few months earlier after a Christian lady gave her & some of our children a lift to their first day of school which also was only our fourth day in our new hometown.

As we quickly passed one another in the house, I asked her to enquire that morning at Fellowship what time Church starts on Sunday.

Unknown to me, as soon as she had an opportunity to be alone in our room she shut the door to Celebrate & Worship God for answering her eleven years of silent prayers.

To cut a long story short, unknown to me she had been born again at age twelve & as strange as it sounds I was completely unaware until I had received Christ as my personal Lord & Saviour.

Early in our relationship, my wife had discovered that I had absolutely no time for Church people, deeming them all to be hypocrites & if I lived a reasonably moral life all was fine.

So she accepted within herself to live out our marriage devoid of any Church attendance or association with any Christians & to instigate a secret prayer life while I remained oblivious to the truth to her secret Life in God.

My wife did this for well over eleven years, all the time seeking the Lord to touch my life & finally on that fateful morning she 'Knew' that my simple request meant He indeed had!

For me that first day, apart from experiencing a beautiful day where I felt like I was walking on springs & somehow the grasses had become greener, the sky had become bluer & everything was just 'so right' about the world I remained completely unaware of what had happened to me. I was simply so totally engrossed in enjoying such a unique sense of assurance even to contemplate any need to question it.

In reality, when we are happy & content in something it simply is complete in us & we find no necessity to ‘work at’ displaying or advertising how we feel for in reality it cannot be hid.

Luke 11:33 KJV
No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

Remember this the next time something on social media from friends, acquaintances or even strangers makes you feel as though you, your family, your marriage or any other part of your life lacks significantly.

Rather, smell the roses & take note of the realities of life & be uplifted in the rare occasions where you actually see the light in someone, feel excited for them & you will start to feel a whole lot better yourself.

Sharing in someone else's joy can become an extraordinary joy to you yourself.

Now back to my situation, it was only at work the next day that something happened that I suddenly knew I had also changed outwardly in utterly inexplicable ways.

A simple yet powerful acceptance was consuming me & for sure some perspectives were changing rapidly, but somehow I saw my first glimpse of the fact that a paradigm shift had been established in me.

So where did such a paradigm shift actually take place in me? Answer: in the Presence of God there in that bathroom.

FIRST COMMANDMENT:
I AM THE LORD THY GOD! THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BUT ME!

SECOND COMMANDMENT:
THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN!

The above, as you know are the first two of the Ten Commandments given to Moses & both refer to Seeing Truth of Who God Is! [Exodus 20]

On that day in that fleeting moment of receiving Christ as the Son of God, Lord & Saviour I spiritually conceded that God His Father was now the Lord My God & in receiving Him I ceased taking His Name in vain in the outworking of my life.

The receiving of Christ & the re-enlivening of my Spirit Man through the Power of the Holy Spirit now re-established a True God Presence in my being & founded the First & Second Commandment in me through Christ.

The 'new birth' of my Spirit Man had secretly created a new perspective deep within me which was to soon bring a paradigm shift of eternal importance in & to my soul.

How exactly do I see that this paradigm shift created in me? Answer: It was made manifest through my being led by God to ask what time Church started on Sunday.

THIRD COMMANDMENT:
THOU SHALT KEEP THE SABBATH DAY HOLY!

Christ established His Kingdom in my Spirit Man which gave a new spiritual perspective but in the re-establishing of Obedience consisting within God's Image in my soul He now defaced the disobedience I inherited at birth.

Not general disobedience to others in life but Disobedience to God that had kept me separated from My Father, My God, My Creator.

As a Catholic boy, out of myself, I obeyed many directives of the Church & its teachings, but there was no True Obedience to God which can only come through Christ & God's Grace & Mercy He brings to us.

Hence why on that fateful morning I realised after twenty-three years my disillusionment back then was not actually with God but rather with the religious practices that kept me from Seeing or Knowing the Living God.

Romans 16:19 KJV
19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise
unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.

ISSUE 029:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 27
Issued: 26th September 2017

Defaced - Week 19

Last week I briefly shared of my personal coming to the Lord.

The Bible tells me, & I know that I did not go looking for Him but He came looking for and found me.

For every one of us Blessed of God to have Received Jesus Christ into our hearts, our conversion was as unique & individual as each one of us truly is.

In contrast, the process of God’s re-establishing Kingdom Presence in our being was, is & always will be uniquely the same.

Hebrews 13:8 Amplified Bible
Jesus Christ is [eternally changeless, always] the same yesterday and today and forever

He came to find us individually, & we were all found being led down an ever-changing path to an uncertain destination, being tossed to & fro like a sea of bottles upon the ocean waves.

Into our midst He came, looking for his lost sheep, to take us through the turbulence of this world by walking us beside still waters & laying us down in green pastures to live in the Hope of the salvation of our souls.
[Psalm 23]

John 10:16 (KJV)
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Once found, the Good Shepherd gathered each one of us up in His Arms & set us down amongst His Flock, to Lead us all through the wilderness to the one destiny.

To be One with Him as we are caught up in the Glory of Christ at the time of His Second Coming.

Psalms 78:52 (KJV)
But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

All lost sheep when found, came to see & know Him only in the moment of finalisation of God’s individual tailor-made plan to Draw Nigh to each one in LOVE.

1 John 4:8-10 NKJV
8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

He first Loved Us & now it is for us to come to learn how to truly love Him, for He Drew Nigh to us in order to open The Way for us to Draw Nigh unto Him.

Jesus Alive in us enables us to enter into a living relationship with Him & to learn the language of His Love.

God’s Love Language is Obedience.

2 John 1:5-6 KJV
5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.
6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

John 14:15 KJV
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

A simple short command, if you love me keep my commandments & the Bible says God Is Love, so is not Obedience His Love Language to us.

Obey My Commandments, Obey Me The Lord Thy God!

So simple to understand yet so hard to enact in Truth.

A Command can only be fulfilled through Obedience.

As we have previously seen, Obedience which consisted in the Image of God was intentionally defaced through the wilful act of Adam eating the one fruit in the garden of which he was Commanded not to.

So it was that Lucifer the fallen angel, in the form of a wily serpent, subtly deceived them into his ways of disobedience to God’s Will, to bring about the fall of man.

The need for God to flood the earth, to pull down the Tower of Babel, to destroy Sodom & Gomorrah are just three of many stark indicators to us all that fallen man’s inherent nature when unleashed is forever leant toward disobedience to the Ways of God.

We all know that due to the existence of the concept of self in this world we need to learn obedience as disobedience is now our inherent nature.

Therefore it should not be hard for us to understand what is the first intentional act Christ performs in a born-again person.

He defaces our disobedience by reconstituting obedience to the Image of God in our soul thus opening The Way for The Truth In Love to commence its work of transforming our minds to the Mind of Christ.

So that the Commands of God can now resound in the mind, enflaming True Love in the emotions, to enable manifestation as Obedience in the flesh in Truth only through the Power of His Spirit.

This is what happened in that moment of our first belief as we received the Truth of God’s existence in our hearts & the initial fleshly outworking came through the ingraining of the need to seek & have fellowship with His Flock which we Obeyed in Him.

Our first Christ Inspired act of Obedience was to seek out a Church Family & partake of the Good News.

** “That God is a mountain spring and not a watering trough. The good news is that God’s overflowing fullness is magnified and our longings are satisfied in the simple acts of thirsting and drinking.

The Best News in All the World;
When we turn from all the pop and fizz and bottled beverage of the world and get down on our knees beside the mountain spring of God’s living water, we honour him and glorify him and magnify him as the only source of lasting joy.

And in the very act of magnifying him we satisfy ourselves because this is the water we were made to live by.

This is the best news in all the world — that God is the kind of God whose zeal to glorify his name comes to fullest expression in an act which satisfies the longings of my heart.

This means that whenever I am most thirsty and most desperate and most in need of help, I can encourage my soul not only with the truth that there is a merciful impulse in the heart of God but also with the truth that the source and power of that impulse is the zeal of God to act for the sake of his own name.”
** http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-pleasure-of-god-in-obedience

Statement of an unknown woman upon realising the gospel for the first time,

“I know why I want my morality to save me.
If I’m saved by my good works, then like a taxpayer, I have rights.
I’ve paid into the system, and God owes me a good and decent life.
 And there is a limit to what the Father can ask of me.

But if I’m saved by sheer grace, then my life belongs entirely to the Father, he owes me nothing and there is no limit to what he can ask of me.”

It is in such an understanding of the Grace of God that True Obedience can be hoped to take root in us.

ISSUE 030:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 28
Issued: 3rd October 2017

​Defaced - Week 20


So what then is True Obedience in God?

The Hebrew word for Obedience is the word 'Shama' or 'Shema' pronounced "shmah" which means 'to hear'. 
[Strong's Concordance Hebrew 08085]


Exodus 24:7
And he [Moses] took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient [Shama]. 


"The Shema" is also the name for Judaism's Pledge of Allegiance which essentially is:
Deuteronomy 6:4-5:
4 Hear [Shama], O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.


Observant Jews right up to this present day have recited those words morning & evening as a central affirmation of their commitment to the Lord in the same manner as Jesus did. 

In continually reciting this prayer Jews remind themselves of their commitment to love God & affirm their dedication to follow Him & do His Will.

Every parent upon having to yell out to their child to ask "Did you hear me?" would understand that hearing should result in action.

In our Western culture listening is a mental activity & hearing means just that our ears pick up sounds.

However, the word 'Shama' or 'Shema' in Hebrew stresses physical action & therefore is descriptive of hearing & its effects such as taking notice of or heeding to be obedient & do what is asked of the hearer.

In other words, Hebrews understand 'to hear' not only as to take it in but also to act upon it.

Matthew 11:15
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Jesus was calling for us to not just listen to his words but to put them into action.

James 1:22
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Jesus asks us not just to be hearers of the word but to be doers of it for He wants us to "take notice to listen & obey".

Hebrews through the word 'Shema' understand that what we have heard is not true in our hearts until it transforms our lives as well.

We, the Westerners, tend to put all our stress upon what is in our minds thus tending to consider action as "dead works".

Let us now begin a study into this subject of obedience by first taking a closer look at the profound statement shared last week of an unknown woman upon realising the True Gospel for the first time.

Firstly let me reshare her description of the carnal reaction possibly birthed from a religious background & in light of The Truth now fully understood for what it is:

*1 "I know why I want my morality to save me.
*2 If I’m saved by my good works, then like a taxpayer, I have rights.
*3 I’ve paid into the system, and God owes me a good and decent life.
*4  And there is a limit to what the Father can ask of me.


Now let us examine more closely line by line what she said. 

*1. I know why I want my morality to save me.
The Deception:
So I can do good works to retain my pride & self-satisfaction by continuing to utilise the knowledge of good & evil as the basis of my sense of morality & acceptance by God simply by doing 'more good' & less evil. 

The Truth:
"For by grace ye are saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV


*2. If I’m saved by my good works, then like a taxpayer, I have rights.
The Deception:
So I can do good works while retaining the carnal belief & sense that for everything I give there shall surely be further rights accredited to me.

The Truth:
"12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 
13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 
14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 
15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 
17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them."  
John 13:12-17 NKJV


*3. I’ve paid into the system, and God owes me a good and decent life.
The Deception:
So I can do good works as a down payment to ensure the reaping of personal reward.

The Truth:
"Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets." Luke 6:22-23 KJV

*4. And there is a limit to what the Father can ask of me.
The Deception:
So I can do good works to establish a level of responsibility to commitment based on my own criteria.

The Truth:
41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Mark 12:41-44 KJV

As we will see next week, this unknown woman like so many before & after her has discovered The Spiritual Truth which surpasses such a carnal based religious view of The Word.

We, all of us, need to continually examine the effects that our carnal ways remaining in our flesh are affecting the foundations of our spiritual beliefs.

John 6:26-27
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 

ISSUE 031:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 29
Issued: 10th October 2017

Defaced - Week 21
​
Do we sacrifice to obey?.......
​
In the Old Testament, Samuel tells Saul, who had just disobeyed the Lord's specific instructions to him, that obedience to God is better than sacrifice.

1 Samuel 15:22  KJV
22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 

In Old Testament times, animal sacrifices were commanded by God so that the individual could experience forgiveness of sin. 

The animal served as a substitute - dying in place of the sinner, but only temporarily, therefore sacrifices had to be offered over and over again. 

Jesus Christ put an end to that when He became the ultimate sacrifice once for all mankind:

Hebrews 7:27 KJV
Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

Jesus Christ is now the only mediator between God and humanity:

1 Timothy 2:5 KJV
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

The only basis on which an animal sacrifice could provide forgiveness of sins is Christ who would sacrifice Himself for our sins, granting the forgiveness that animal sacrifices could only illustrate and foreshadow.

The animal sacrifices foreshadowed Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. 

...... or do we obey to sacrifice?
    
Let us pick up from where we left off last week by reminding ourselves that the unknown woman also wrote of her new found spiritual realisation of The Gospel & the essence of what it now meant to her.

She wrote:
1. But if I’m saved by sheer grace, 
2. then my life belongs entirely to the Father, 
3. he owes me nothing 
4. and there is no limit 
5. to what he can ask of me.

Let us now examine more closely once again what this woman wrote on the matter. 

1. But if I’m saved by sheer grace, 
Ephesians 2:8 KJV
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

2. then my life belongs entirely to the Father, 
Galatians 2:20 KJV
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

3. he owes me nothing 
Luke 17:5-10 MSG
5 The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.”
6 But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.
7-10 “Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”

4. and there is no limit 
Philippians 4:11-13 KJV
11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Luke 1:37 NKJV
For with God nothing will be impossible

5. to what he can ask of me.”
Ephesians 3:14-21 NKJV
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in  the inner man, 
17  that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

I believe that it is only in this kind of an understanding of the Grace of God that True Obedience can ever begin to take root in us.

To this very day, despite what has befallen me over the years, I still thank God for giving me a very similar revelation within mere days of receiving Jesus Christ as Lord & Saviour.

I know it opened my heart to obediently receive the Call of God to Uganda & East Africa within the EIDO Vision in which we are still walking without support some 27 years later.

For the Grace of God is not the unmerited favour of God, for that is the Mercy of God, but it is the Power of Christ in us, the understanding of which then empowers you to do what you are called to do even in the midst of weakness.

The Apostle Paul put it this way:

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 KJV

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

O Heavenly Father may you cause us all to clearly understand that Jesus, the Son of Man, spent a life of sufferings in order to learn the obedience that enabled him to accept your cup in laying down his life for us in ultimate sacrifice in full accordance to your Divine Will.

Hebrews 5:8-9 KJV
8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Luke 22:42 KJV
42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

So that now through the Grace of God, being the Power of Christ within us, we can walk in Obedience to Our Father's Will.

For a religious spirit promotes sacrifice in order to obey, but true sons of God obey in sacrifice through the Power of Christ residing within them, which is the Grace of God upon their lives.

ISSUE 032:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 30
Issued: 17th October 2017


Defaced - Week 22

Are we to Sacrifice to obey or Obey to sacrifice?

What does sacrifice mean in the Old & New Testaments?

1. Old Testament:
For a brief moment last week we pondered the fact that during Old Testament times God Commanded animal sacrifices for forgiveness of sins right up until the time came for Jesus to put an end to it all by becoming the ultimate sacrifice once for all.

The sacrificial shedding of innocent blood began in the Garden of Eden as God in His Mercy & Grace provided animal skins to cover their nakedness, the revealing of which bared their sin to open exposure.

Genesis 3:21 KJV
21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

2. New Testament:
He provided a covering for their nakedness [their sin] in a foreshadowing of how the Garments of His Righteousness would one day provide a shield for our sins.

Ephesians 6:16 KJV
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Thereby allowing us to access the Throne of Grace as redeemed Sons of God.

To open The Way through Him & His Shed Blood,
to Fellowship with The Truth He came to reveal
so that we now have opportunity to choose in our hearts
The Life of Obedience as He did.

Genesis 3: 10-11  KJV
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

In stark contrast, Jesus the Son of Man chose to live his life through the empowerment of Holy Spirit in full accordance with His Father's Divine Will which then compelled Him to a life of sacrifice born out of Obedience.

Giving all in surrender to his Heavenly Father, waiving, yielding, surrendering, relinquishing & renouncing all & any human right to satisfy self, denying the very flesh he willingly took for one reason only, to make a way for us.

Jesus, the Son of Man, denied his life & lost it, demonstrating to us in the flesh, The One & Only Way we can lose ours in order to gain it.

Only through Jesus the Risen Christ, the Son of God & the Obedience that He had now defaced our disobedience with.

Matthew 16:25 KJV
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

None of us is perfect for we all fail at every turn, for we all fall so far short of the Glory of God.

Romans 3:23 KJV
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

In Matthew 16:25 above it says "whosoever will lose his life for my sake."

Acts 11:26  KJV
26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

'Christian' means to be a disciple of Christ & disciple means to be a follower of Christ & His Teachings.

Jesus is:
The Way [The Word],
The Truth [The Word] &
The Life [The Word].

John 14:6 KJV
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 1:1-4 KJV
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made byhim; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him waslife; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

There is no other way to God The Father except through Him.

Acts 4:12 KJV
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

He laid The Way straight & narrow for us; He forged a path for us to follow Him on.

Matthew 7:13-14 KJV
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Obedience comes at a massive price to self so let none of us be flippant in our 'following' the path Jesus set for us.

He set & walked the path to His Golgotha & in Obedience to His Word we need to go to our personal Golgotha & allow His Word to crucify, thankfully piece by piece, the sinfulness of our flesh as he restores our soul.

That is why every True Church should prominently & openly display an empty Cross to forever remind us of the Resurrection Power that Arose Jesus from the dead.

For that same Resurrection Power is Alive in each one of us & well able to deliver us back from death to live out an Eternity in Jesus Christ with our Creator The Lord God Almighty.

What is True Sacrifice in the New Testament?

It is only through the Grace of God, the Power of Christ within us that we can turn from sacrificing to obey the word, to Obeying through the True Sacrifice of laying down our lives to live The Word.

1 John 3:16 KJV
16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

So let us now walk in soberness, earnestly endeavouring to truthfully assess how & if we are sacrificing in the way Jesus demonstrated to us.

Obedience took Jesus to the Cross of Calvary.

His death & the shedding of His Blood cleansed us from the penalty of our sins; His Resurrection Rose Him up from the dead & established Him in His Rightful Place at the right hand of The Father in Glory.

It was the Obedience of Jesus that preceded His Supreme Sacrifice of laying down his life to open the door to the redeeming of souls.

Luke 22:42 KJV
42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Obedience to Christ within us needs to be the precursor to our giving of love, encouragement, teachings, giftings, time, energy, finances, helps, all being discharged through the sacrificial laying down of our lives piece by piece, as best we can, to Him that He might work through us to the Glory of God alone.

ISSUE 033:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 31
Issued: 24th October 2017

Defaced - Week 23

We have been looking into the fact that when a true believer's spirit comes Alive again through the Sanctifying Blood of Jesus, disobedience is defaced with the Obedience of Christ.

Now possessing the ability through Christ to truly obey God, righteous acts grow in us by which those who are of like mind & spirit will know each other & walk in Truth together.

Obedience Leads Us To Give Our Lives to God.

Romans Chapter 12   KJV
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,

5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;

7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;

8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.

18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.

20 Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

However, from the first human habitation of this earth, there has always been two kinds of worshippers first revealed in the story of Cain & Abel.

Genesis 4:1-4
1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

In the following excerpt, Matthew Henry expounds more on the facts of this story of the first family.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)
"When Cain was born, Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Perhaps she thought that this was the promised seed. If so, she was woefully disappointed.

Abel signifies vanity: when she thought she had the promised seed in Cain, whose name signifies possession, she was so taken up with him that another son was as vanity to her.

Observe, each son had a calling. It is the will of God for everyone to have something to do in this world. Parents ought to bring up their children to work. Give them a Bible and a calling, said good Mr. Dod, and God be with them.

We may believe that God commanded Adam, after the fall, to shed the blood of innocent animals, and after their death to burn part or the whole of their bodies by fire. Thus that punishment which sinners deserve, even the death of the body, and the wrath of God, of which fire is a well-known emblem, and also the sufferings of Christ, were prefigured.

Observe that the religious worship of God is no new invention. It was from the beginning; it is the good old way, ( Jeremiah 6:16 ) .

Jeremiah 6:16 KJV
16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

The offerings of Cain and Abel were different. Cain showed a proud, unbelieving heart. Therefore he and his offering were rejected.

Abel came as a sinner, and according to God's appointment, by his sacrifice expressing humility, sincerity, and believing obedience.

Thus, seeking the benefit of the new covenant of mercy, through the promised Seed, his sacrifice had a token that God accepted it.

Abel offered in faith, and Cain did not,  ( Hebrews 11:4 ).

Hebrews 11:4 KJV
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

In all ages there have been two sorts of worshippers, such as Cain and Abel;
namely, proud, hardened despisers of the gospel method of salvation,
who attempt to please God in ways of their own devising;
and humble believers, who draw near to him in the way he has revealed. "

A pattern was set right there in the very first account in the Bible of humans striving to live this new life after finding themselves now distanced from God.

Even though Cain & Abel both could 'See' God through Adam & Eve's shared experiences of their time with Him, just as children learn of departed grandparents when parents share their intimate knowledge of them.

However only one was to come to 'Know' God's Approval by bringing a sacrificial offering that was pleasing to God.

To 'See' God is one thing but to 'Know' Him is another & only in the sacrificing of your life to selflessness can you ever hope to truly begin to 'See & Know. '                                  [ 'eido' - Strongs Concordance 1492 ]

"Father, Lord God Almighty it is our continual prayer to give All Thanks to You & to never cease in upholding this Vision & Ministry you called EIDO before the Throne of God. Through its outworking may you bring so many to 'See & Know' the way to take hold of the Obedience Christ defaced our disobedience with, that with it we might learn to 'die to self' & begin to sacrifice our lives indeed to become living vessels for Christ Our Lord. God Our Father you are God of all increase, may you the God of our Lord Jesus Christ give unto us the spirit of wisdom & revelation in the knowledge of him through your Divine Grace freely given to us being the Power of Christ now dwelling in us. Father have Mercy upon us daily as we continue to walk in Him, in the sacrifices made through Obedience to your Word O God. Father we have prayed this in the Precious & Powerful Name of Jesus Christ, giving all Glory to you the One & Only God. Amen."

Since the Day of Pentecost there has always been a forever deepening need to Spiritually 'See & Know' in order for us to Obey God in Truth. In these End Days God has purposed to reveal more & more of Himself & His Glory & I believe EIDO is but one regional part of His Worldwide Spiritual Net to reveal to us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.        [Eph 1:17 KJV]

ISSUE 034:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 32
Issued: 31st October 2017

Defaced - Week 24

I feel led to continuing this week at taking a closer look at what transpired in the first family & was revealed through the actions of Cain & Abel in their giving worship to God.

Essentially what follows is my paraphrased version of Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete) onGenesis 4 Verses 3-5. 
A full original version can be found at: https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/genesis/4.html

I. Here we have the devotions of Cain and Abel at a time when they had made some improvement in their respective callings & at a set time, Cain and Abel brought to Adam, as the priest of the family, their respective offering to the Lord.
(Heb. At the end of days, either at the end of the year, when they kept their feast of in-gathering or perhaps an annual fast in remembrance of the fall, or at the end of the days of the week, the seventh day, which was the sabbath)

We have reason to think there was a divine appointment given to Adam for the doing of this, as a token of God’s favour to Adam and his thoughts of love towards him and his family, regardless of their apostasy.

God would thus try Adam’s faith in the promise and his obedience to the remedial law; he would thus settle a correspondence again between heaven and earth, and give shadows of good things to come.

Observe here,
1. That the religious worship of God is not a new or unusual invention, but an ancient institution.

It is that which was from the beginning (1 John. 1:1 );
it is the good old way. (Jeremiah 6:16)

The city of our God is indeed that joyous city whose antiquity is of ancient days. (Isaiah 23:7)

Truth was founded before misconception and the peculiarity of being religious or reverent before the irreligious or irreverent behaviour.

For children, it is a good thing to be taught well while they are young and trained up in a timely manner into religious services so that in their maturing they might be capable of bringing an offering to God of their own accord.

Parents must raise their children in this nurturing in the Lord. ( Ephesians 6:4 )

Every one of us should honour God with what we have, according as he has prospered us.

Cain & Abel each in accordance to their occupations & possessions brought their offering. (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)

Our merchandise and our hire, whatever they are, must be holiness to the Lord. ( Isaiah 23:18 )

He must have his dues of it in works of reverence for God & love, the support of religion and the giving of relief to the poor.

We must now bring our offering with a correct, righteous, honest & just heart; and with such sacrifices, God is well pleased.

Be aware that hypocrites and evil-doers may be found going just as far as the best of God’s people in the external services of religion.

Cain brought an offering as did Abel, and not only so but Cain’s offering is mentioned first as if he were the more forward of the two.

A hypocrite may possibly hear as many sermons, say as many prayers, and give as much charity in all its forms, as a good Christian, and yet come short of acceptance with God through lack of sincerity.

The Pharisee and the publican went to the temple to pray with their devotions inducing starkly differing levels of success.( Luke 18:10-II )

The aim of any religious devotion is to gain God's acceptance: we proceed well if we attain it, but no real significance or purpose comes of it when we fail to gain it. ( 2 Corinthians 5:9 )

To anyone standing by perhaps the sacrifices of Cain and Abel would have seemed equally good & worthy.

Adam accepted them both, but God, who does not see as man sees, did not.

God had respect to Abel and to his offering, and showed his acceptance of it, probably by fire from heaven; but to Cain and his offering, he had none.

We are sure there was a good reason for this difference for the Governor of the world, although an absolute sovereign, does not act with a sole reliance upon His own judgement in passing his favour or displeasure.

1. There was a difference in the characters of Cain & Abel the two bringing their offering to God.

Cain was a wicked man, led a bad life, under the reigning power of the world and the flesh; and therefore to the Lord his sacrifice was greatly disliked being regarded with extreme repugnance & aversion( Proverbs 15:8 ), a vain offering brought before God & therefore ineffective & unsuccessful in its futility. ( Isaiah 1:13 )

God had no respect to Cain himself, and therefore no respect to his offering, as the manner of the expression intimates.

But Abel was a righteous man; he is called righteous Abel ( Matthew 23:35 ); his heart was upright and his life was reverent; he was one of those whom God’s countenance beholds ( Psalms 11:7 ) and whose prayer is, therefore, his delight, ( Proverbs 15:8 ).

God had respect to him as a holy man, and therefore to his offering as a holy offering.

The tree must be good, else the fruit cannot be pleasing to the heart-searching God.

2. There was a difference in the offerings they brought.

It is expressly said ( Hebrews 11:4 ) Abel’s was a more excellent sacrifice than Cain’s: either

(1.) In the nature of it.
Cain’s was only a sacrifice of acknowledgement offered to the Creator; the meat-offerings of the fruit of the ground were no more, and, for all I know, they might have been offered in innocence.

But Abel brought a sacrifice of atonement, the blood whereof was shed in order to remission, thereby owning himself a sinner, deprecating God’s wrath, and imploring his favour in a Mediator.

(2.) In the qualities of the offering.
Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, anything that came next to hand, that he had no good use for himself or was not suitable to be marketed by him.

But Abel was curious in the choice of his offering: not the lame, nor the lean, nor the refuse, but the firstlings of the flock —the best he had, and the fat thereof —the best of the best.

Hence the Hebrew doctors give it for a general rule that everything that is for the name of the good God must be the highest quality and best.
 
It is fit that he who is the first and best should have the first and best of our time, strength, and service.

ISSUE 035:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 33
Issued: 7th November 2017

Defaced - Week 25

(Continuation from last week of my paraphrased version of Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 4 Verses 3-5):

3. The great difference was this, that Abel offered in faith, and Cain did not.

There was a difference in the principle upon which they went.

Abel offered with an eye to God’s will as his rule, and God’s glory as his end, and in dependence upon the promise of a Redeemer;

but Cain did what he did only for fellowship’s sake, or to save his image of credibility, not in faith, and so it turned into sin to him.

Abel was a penitent believer, like the publican that went away justified: Cain was unhumbled; his confidence was within himself; he was like the Pharisee who glorified himself, but was not so much as justified before God.

4. Cain’s displeasure at the difference God made between his sacrifice and Abel’s.

Cain was very angry, which soon appeared in his very looks, for his countenance fell, which indicates not so much his grief and discontent as his malice and rage.

Insensitivity & irritability was openly displayed upon his face & betrayed his passionate resentments: he carried unpleasant disposition upon his face, the revealing of which witnessed against him.

This anger bespeaks,
1. His enmity to God, and the indignation he had conceived against him for making such a difference between his offering and his brother’s.

He should have been angry at himself for his own infidelity and hypocrisy, by which he had forfeited God’s acceptance; and his countenance should have fallen in repentance and holy shame, as the publican’s, who would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven.

Luke 18:13 KJV
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

But, instead of this, his indignation & displeasure flew out against God, as if God was biased and unfair in distributing his approvals or displeasures, and as if he, Cain, had been done a great injustice.

Note it is most certainly a sign of the lack of humility of the heart to argue with the rebukes that come as a result of our own sin.

The foolishness of man perverts his way, and then, to make bad worse, his heart becomes discontented toward the Lord & His Ways.

Proverbs 19:3 KJV
3 The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord.

He became envious of his brother, who had thehonour of being publicly recognised.

Though his brother had no thought of putting any slur upon him or his character, nor insulted him just in order to provoke an adverse reaction, yet he conceived a hatred of his brother by now perceiving him as an enemy or at very least his rival.

Note,
(1.) It is common for those who have rendered themselves unworthy of God’sfavour by their presumptuous sins to have indignation against those who are dignified and distinguished by it.

The Pharisees walked in this way ofCain, when they neither entered into the kingdom of God themselves nor suffered those that were entering to go in.

Luke 11:52 KJV
52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves,andthem that were entering in ye hindered.  

Their eye is evil because their master’s eye and the eye of their fellow-servants are good.

(2.) Envy is a sin that commonly carries with it both its own discovery, in the paleness of the looks, and its own punishment, in the rottenness of the bones.

The offerings of Cain and Abel were different for Cain showed a proud, unbelieving heart.

Therefore he and his offering were rejected.

Abel came as a sinner, and according to God's appointment, by his sacrifice expressing humility, sincerity, and believing obedience.

Thus, seeking the benefit of the new covenant of mercy, through the promised Seed, his sacrifice had a token that God accepted it.

Abel offered in faith, and Cain did not,

Hebrews 11:4 KJV
4 Byfaith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and byit he being dead yet speaketh.

In all ages there have been two sorts of worshippers, such as Cain and Abel; namely, proud, hardened despisers of the gospel method of salvation, who attempt to please God in ways of their own devising;

and humble believers, who draw near to him in the way he has revealed. "  End of Matthew Henry [paraphrased]

There is one significant aspect we need to be mindful of in all that the Bible relates to in Genesis re Cain & Abel & to which Matthew Henry has made commentary of & that is:

"In all ages, there have been two sorts of worshippers."

We can easily misinterpret the story of Cain & Abel as being the very first emergence of believers & non-believers, sinners & saints.

For Abel drew The Lord's Respect to him & therefore to his offering, while Cain drew only The Lord's disrespect to him & his offering.

It should be a stark wakeup call to us all that it is not what we offer up to The Lord as an offering that gains His Favour, but rather the leaning of a repentant heart in truth toward Him is what engenders His Respect toward us & therefore our offerings.

For a true repentant heart is one that recognises its disobedience because Obedience defaced it & turned it in truth to God & away from evil.

The Bible in relating God's Ways & The Truth can easily appear at times as paradoxical to us for the basis of our thought patterns are in many aspects still carnally based.

Colossians 2:8 (KJV)
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

As I have related before, of course, we need to look out the windscreen of life to discern where we are going, for we are still in this world.

However, we simultaneously need to be forever learning to rely on the rearview mirror for the direction we take, no longer formulating it upon what we see carnally before us because we are no longer of this world.

Hence the existence of Ishmael when God's Promised one was Isaac.

For God's Promises to us, both corporate & personal, direct us in His Will & His Ways.

Firstly by superimposing The Way, The Truth & The Life over our view of life as we have come to know it, secondly through the giving of an ever-increasing revelation of wisdom & knowledge of Him to reveal where we came from & to where we will return.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Cain & Abel were not the embryonic sinner & saint as we might easily imagine, but rather their entirely different heart attitudes were, in fact, the catalyst to the creating of a chasm within Christianity that has fostered itswell known fragmentation to this present day.

ISSUE 036:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 34
Issued: 14th November 2017

Defaced - Week 24

Last week I ended by making this statement:
"Cain & Abel were not the embryonic sinner & saint as we might easily imagine, but rather their entirely different heart attitudes were, in fact, the catalyst to the creating of a chasm within Christianity that has fostered its well-known fragmentation to this present day."

As I was led in my heart to write "well-known fragmentation" my mind was more focused on the apparent existence of the estimated 34,000 distinct Christian faith groups that exist under the one banner known as 'Christianity'.

This perception, of course, is in truth a well known & well-documented fact & a part truth, but on further examination, I see more deeply into what the real chasm is throughout Christianity.

In fact, this has been nurtured in men ever since the very beginning having been revealed in the actions of Cain & Abel toward God as was attested to in the Commentary of Matthew Henry I was led to share.

Cain showed a proud, unbelieving heart & God had no respect for him or what he offered in worship.

Abel came as a sinner, and according to God's appointment, by his sacrifice expressed humility, sincerity, and believing obedience.

As Matthew Henry stated in all ages, there have been two sorts of worshippers.

One comes as a proud, hardened despiser of the Gospel method of Salvation, attempting to please God in ways of his own devising.  

The other one, a humble believer, drawn near to God in The Way, The Truth & The Life revealed in his heart.

I sincerely believe that the Lord is wanting to bring more profound revelations of understanding to us to lead us into revisiting what is resident in our spiritual heart but now in light of a burgeoning simplicity.

May we together, hope that those with an ear to hear what the Spirit of God is saying to The Church today will be lifted up by allowing themselves to be drawn down into a deeper level of True Godly Wisdom.

We are living in uncertain, unsure & unpredictable times which the Bible plainly tells us are to become even more erratic as time goes by & the end draws nearer.

As Christians in these days, indeed we need more & more to Draw Nigh To God for an ever-increasing affirmation our individual & personal heart relationship with Him.

We are now at a time where we need to seek a deeper solidification of our foundation in Christ if we are going to move forward in power in the midst of the prevailing & future circumstances.

We NEED to be spiritually captivated in & by Him.

We are now living in the postmodern period in the world & it affects our Churches, meaning that our perspectives on life are rapidly changing.

Know this; satan dictates the pace at which this world moves & the variances of his urgency displayed in the activities of this world is firstly regulated by what he sees God is planning to do.

When men go to war, they cannot let their enemy know their plans lest outright defeat visit upon them, but no such need exists in God for He is All Victorious!

God's Kingdom is busy, hence why the world around us is acting the way it is.

Let us position ourselves to be awakened in Him, lest we continue to slumber & fall short of our Victory!

Darkness always precedes Light so that its Works are made Manifest in Glory!

If you live in darkness, you will never know Light, but if you have come to know Light you understand that darkness exists only through the lack of it.

Let us no longer stand in the shadows but rather heed to His Call to bask in His Wonderful Light for His Time is near, His Time is here!

In this climate of change the Plans & Purposes of God are moving & building up in spiritual strength & the Kingdom of God is rallying to the Divine Call.

The Command designated to shift the paradigms of True Believers, the Body of Christ, into final alignment in preparation for the Second Coming of Christ & Victory.

With all my heart, my life & all I had, I have believed for 27 years now that the EIDO Vision is but one small part of the worldwide work of God's Kingdom to Manifest the Answer to His Endtime Call to awaken The Church from our slumber.

Ephesians 1:15-23 KJV
15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from thedead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in thisworld, but also in that which is to come:

22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all inall.

Our paradigm is so natural & intrinsic to our mental processes that we are barely aware of its existence until you try to communicate with someone possessing a different one.

The most excellent paradigm or shift of perspective a man can experience is to receive Christ as his Lord & Saviour.

For as we have learnt here, that as we receive Christ into our being His Presence within us now Defaces disobedience with His Obedience.

This Obedience of Christ immediately shifts the natural sinful perspective of self to lead us into following Him into the life of ever-increasing self-denial that faithful obedience to The Word of God generates in us.

Disfigurement damages the form or shape of something & is natural.

Defacement damages the surface, or front part of something & is an intentional act.

Once again here is yet another illustration of the two kinds of worshippers that have always existed.

Cain came before God disfigured by his actions designed to hide his proud, unbelieving heart.

So Cain quite naturally, because of the intent of his heart, intentionally changed its form or shape to hide the truth within.

His actions were like that of a chameleon, defined as being a person who changes their opinions or behaviour according to the prevailing situation they find themselves in.

Abel came before God defaced by his repentant heart that revealed himself as a sinner, and according to God's appointment, by his sacrifice expressed humility, sincerity, and believing obedience.

In the case of Cain's brother Abel & 'according to God's appointment' which by definition would mean it was an intentional act of defacement coming from beyond Abel, the surface of his heart presented to God expressed in humility, sincerity, and believing obedience.

A foresight & foretaste of what the Love of Jesus would bring to humankind in the future, the Redeeming Grace of the Blood of Jesus.

The Redemption we now Live in.

Hallelujah!!

ISSUE 037:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 35
Issued: 21st November 2017

Defaced - Week 25

Last week I shared my belief that especially now in this post-modern period that is upon us, we as Christian individuals, need to step down to step up in God.

Step down from following the world to step up into an ever-deepening understanding of The Word of God.

We need to turn from ascending ourselves into His Glory to learn to descend into His Greatness.

The Parable of the Pharisee & the Publican [KJV] gives us a clear & straightforward illustration of the difference.

Luke 18:9-14  (KJV)
9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Verse 9 tells us that Jesus spoke the Parable to address those who might trust in themselves, acting righteously by believing they are acting in accord with Divine or Moral Law & thus being convinced they are free from guilt or sin. 

This verse also tells us that such attitudes cause us to despise, to consider others as being beneath our consideration.

Verse 11 tells us that the Pharisee prayed to himself, poignantly indicating to us that prayers born out of a wrongful intent of heart go nowhere, except to tickle the ear of the speaker & those of like spirit.

For in the heart of the Pharisee he was ascending himself & his personal glory forward to be aligned & measured for validity against the Divine Glory.

In the world, we would say that he attempted to 'rub shoulders' with, meaning to associate oneself or work closely with someone while having no physical contact.

To falsely ascend oneself above one's peers, one could claim to have dined with the Queen for instance, while merely being near where she was eating.

Or to put it directly, to take on another's glory through suggestive overtones of association.

By way of comparison, the Tax Collector exhibited a repentant heart, through his declining the natural instinct to serve self & prayed to God through a humbled heart. 

He as a man, by descending in the natural, correspondingly ascended in the spiritual by way of truthfully Seeking God & so touched His Glory & went home justified in God's Sight.

In stark contrast, the Pharisee kept his natural way intact by 'covering' it in his self-righteousness while attempting to ascend his reach to the heavens through his appraisal of himself.

Today, more than ever, I believe we need to, & God wants us to, truthfully Draw Nigh Unto Him .... because the end of The Church Age is coming nearer with each & every breath we take.

Ever since we began to live in this apparition called Time, that same Call has been upon man starting, as we have previously seen, with Cain & Abel.

There, we also learnt that throughout the ages two kinds of worshippers have always existed.

Proud, hardened despisers of the gospel method of salvation, who attempt to devise their own ways of pleasing God, & on the other hand, simple believers, who Draw Nigh Unto Him .... in The Way, The Truth & The Life He reveals.

You may ask, why do I say it began with Cain & Abel & not with Adam & Eve.

Note before we proceed that each Born Again Christian is comprised of Body, Soul & Spirit [Alive in Christ through Holy Spirit Power].

Whereas, unrepentant man is comprised of Body, Soul & Spirit [Dead to Christ].

The Book of Genesis tells us that first God created man in the Image of God, creating him male & female: SPIRIT
Genesis 1:27 KJV
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Then he formed man from the dust: BODY
& breathed the breath of life into him: SOUL
Genesis 2:7 KJV
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

To give him the help-meet they decided Adam needed, a woman was made from one of Adam's ribs: MALE & FEMALE
Genesis 2:21-22 KJV
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

Before The Fall, in their full purity & innocence, Adam & Eve walked in the cool of the day with Him & knew Him.

They later were deceived by the subtlety of the serpent & fell from Grace & were banished from Eden to earth outside the Garden.

Their disobedience Defaced Obedience which consisted in the Image of God, but their oneness remained between them, but not between them & God.

They had been created as one, male & female He Created him in the Image of God.

Eve was made out of Adam to be his help-meet thus making them indeed one.

They walked together as one in the Garden of Eden, as pure & innocent as the day they were Created.

They fell from Grace as one, both deceived by the subtlety of the serpents enticing words.

They came together as one on the earth to procreate & conceived first Cain, then Abel.

They stood fallen from Grace with Cain & Abel to worship God as one, for together they had known Him as being one with them.

Cain & Abel did not, for they only knew God from their parents sharing of what they had known.

One came proud of heart & the other, by God's appointment, came humble of heart & was respected by God.

Obedience temporarily defaced disobedience to restore right standing before God, a foreshadow to what was to be established through the Death & Resurrection of Jesus Christ & the Shedding of His Blood for the Redemption of sinners souls.

ISSUE 038:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 36
Issued: 28th November 2017

Defaced - Week 26

Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, the First Family stood together, on that day related to in the Book of Genesis, having come together as one to Acknowledge God in their lives, to Give Him Honour & to Worship Him as their Creator.

They came to give their love in return to the One who by Loving them, had taught them love & the need of it, just as we do toward our parents.

They came with their offerings Unto Him just as we do toward our loved ones, family & dear friends.

They Drew Nigh to Him in response to His having Drawn Nigh to them in the beginning of all things.

Cain brought the fruit of the ground, Abel the firstling of his flock & the fat thereof.

However, there is nothing recorded of any offering brought by Adam & Eve to God.

This point, I believe, came about because having known Him & knowing what had transpired in the Garden of Eden they merely humbly presented their souls, their very lives to Him, the Creator of All.

For they had known the Love of God intimately, & knew precisely from where they had come along with everything else in the world in which they now stood.

A world Created by God, now cursed because of their sin, so they brought themselves in the hope that their disobedience, that they soon knew had defaced the Image of God within them, might be forgiven.

I further believe that there, unknown to them & by God's Appointment, Christ's Obedience defaced the disobedience of their son Abel, to momentarily connect with the Heavens to bring forth God's Favour upon him.

God had respect for Abel & his offering.

Oh Lord, as we are now coming into the End of the Church Age, may we by Thy Grace & Mercy become ever increasingly enlightened to the simplicity of the root of it all, as they, who had personally known you, were in the beginning.

For two thousand years now men have stood having their spirit man awakened in Christ, yet we all like Cain, continue to slumber even in the midst of The Truth, by actively resisting within the full awakening of our soul.

We continually find ourselves seeking & awaiting the attaining of obedience manifesting from & in our own strength, as Cain did.

 All the while unknowingly resisting the humility of heart that Abel possessed which enabled his disobedience, by God's Divine Appointment, to be defaced momentarily by the Obedience of Christ.

O God, may we finally be brought to the place of understanding our need to reject in our hearts the complexities of this life in order to embrace the simplicity that is Christ.

Jesus simply & repeatedly exhorted us to deny ourselves.

Let us all who declare ourselves to be Followers of Christ, continually Seek Divine Understanding that there is entirely nothing at all that we can present to God, in the hope of pleasing Him, other than a truly humble & repentant heart.

And so Adam & Eve along with Cain & Abel, like all of us, came Seeking Him & His Love.

They congregated together, just as we do, to be in the presence of those we love & cherish most dear to our lives.

They came together as The First Family to form The First Assembly of Believer's, The First Gathering of the Universal Church.

For because God exists so does His Church which formed when these believer's first gathered to worship Him & because it embraced the only four people on earth then this was the beginning of the universal Church.

Definition of universal [Oxford Living Dictionaries]
Relating to or done by all people or things in the world or in a particular group; applicable to all cases.

So now is raised a further question:
"What is the church?"
Reference: https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-the-church.html

Answer:
Many people today understand the church as a building.

This is not a biblical understanding of the church.

The word “church” comes from the Greek word ekklesia which is defined as “an assembly” or “called-out ones.”

The root meaning of “church” is not that of a building, but of people.

It is ironic that when you ask people what church they attend, they usually identify a building.

Romans 16:5 says “… greet the church that is in their house.” Paul refers to the church in their house—not a church building, but a body of believers.

The church is the body of Christ, of which He is the head.

Ephesians 1:22-23 says, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

The body of Christ is made up of all believers in Jesus Christ from the day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2) until Christ’s return.

The body of Christ is comprised of two aspects:

1) The universal church consists of all those who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

“For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Corinthians 12:13).

This verse says that anyone who believes is part of the body of Christ and has received the Spirit of Christ as evidence.

The universal church of God is all those who have received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

2) The local church is described in Galatians 1:1-2: “Paul, an apostle … and all the brothers with me, to the churches in Galatia.”

Here we see that in the province of Galatia there were many churches—what we call local churches, a local body of believers.

The universal church is comprised of those who belong to Christ and who have trusted Him for salvation.

These members of the universal church should seek fellowship and edification in a local church.

In summary, the church is not a building or a denomination.

According to the Bible, the church is the body of Christ—all those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 12:13).

Local churches are gatherings of members of the universal church.

The local church is where the members of the universal church can fully apply the “body” principles of 1 Corinthians chapter 12: encouraging, teaching, and building one another up in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So there in the Assembly of Adam & Eve, along with their sons, Cain & Abel we see the first gathering of a Local Church, uniquely & simultaneously being the entire Universal Church for the first & last time.

For as we have previously seen it was here in this first recorded Assembly of the Worshippers of God that so much was revealed & established in this world.

The Act of God in respecting Abel & his offering while finding no respect for Cain or his offering concurrently revealed two distinct kinds of worshippers that would now tread the path human history from that day to this.

And so very much more.

ISSUE 039:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 37
Issued: 5th December 2017

Defaced - Week 27

The two brothers, Cain & Abel, gathered with their parents Adam & Eve to Draw Nigh to God & Worship Him.

The four of them came as worshippers, but only two came as believers, namely Cain & Abel.

However, Adam & Eve were not, as they already possessed the absolute proof of the existence of God, for in their innocence & purity they had, before The Fall, lived in His Holy Presence in the Garden of Eden.

Definition of Believer:
verb (used without object), believed, believing.
To have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully.
Reference: www.dictionary.com

For Adam was the first man to stand in this world knowing God & The Son of Man, Jesus, was to be the second.

Don Stewart: Why Is Jesus Called the Last Adam and the Second Man?
Reference: https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_1327.cfm

The Bible calls Jesus both the "last Adam" and the "second Man." Paul wrote to the Corinthians.

So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being" the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.

The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.

As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:45-48 KJV
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

Adam Was The First Man

These two names of Jesus compare Him with Adam.

Adam was the first man who was created.

The Bible says that God made Adam out of the dust of the earth.

Genesis 2:7 KJV 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Adam had one nature - that of a human.

He had the possibility of disobedience and did disobey God.

After the sin of Adam and Eve, animal sacrifices were brought to God.

Yet the blood of animals could not take away the sin of Adam and his race.

God had to have perfect human nature sacrificed in place of sinful human nature.

Jesus The Last Adam

The Lord Jesus is the last Adam and the Second Man.

He is the last man to be without a sin nature.

His nature was both human and divine.

He was the second man - the man from heaven.

As the God-man He could be the suitable sacrifice for the sins of the world.

The Bible says that Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice for sin.

17 Therefore if any
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 KJVmanbe in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Summary

Adam, the first human, was created perfect from the dust of the ground.

But Adam disobeyed and brought sin into the world.

Jesus is the "last Adam" in the sense that He was the last man who did not have a sin nature.

Although He was like Adam in that He did not have a sin nature He was different from Adam in that Jesus was from heaven.

Consequently, Jesus was able to be the sinless sacrifice for the sins of the world.  End of Quote.

Now let us more closely examine some of these words shared above.

In the Summary he states: " Adam, the first human, was created perfect from the dust of the ground."

Adam, made in the full Image of God, was made in a complete innocence & purity.

Definition of Innocence:
purity, pureness, sinlessness, innocence, whiteness(noun) the state of being unsullied by sin or moral wrong; lacking a knowledge of evil
Lack of understanding of sensitive subjects such as sexuality and crime.

However, he was made out of the dust of the earth & therefore had an earthly or human nature, in which the spiritual never comes first, but instead first comes the natural, then after that the spiritual.

We Christians would do well to note this fact for it reveals why we do, & will always, fall so far short of the Glory of God, especially the more while we occupy these human bodies.

For every parent knows that to human nature disobedience is natural & it is obedience that has to be taught.

To the world around us, & the world in us, True Obedience to God & His Ways is often deemed as being naive.

However,  this is in stark contrast to the Truth that it is a journey of seeking to re-embrace innocence lost, through Christ & Christ Alone.

Definition of Naive
marked by or showing unaffected simplicity and lack of guile or worldly experience "a teenager's naive ignorance of life"; "the naive assumption that things can only get better"; "this naive simple creature with wide friendly eyes so eager to believe appearances

Innocence is the Way of Divine Spirituality, but the natural way of humans is to perceive it as naivety.

Simply because at the root of human nature is disobedience through a sinful nature which naturally inherits guilt.

When innocence is lost to disobedience, guilt is soon its bedfellow manifesting in a literal multitude of ways & manifestations.

Furthermore, it is human nature, that none of us would ever desire to be known amongst our peers as being naive.

For we all feign to be worldly & wise, cool & 'up with it' in a continual internal race to keep up with the ever-changing role models set before us in all spheres of life.

Unlike our God, the goals are consistently changing & the disobedient are forever held captive in the agitation of it all.

In Christian circles, this fear which is known to all men has been recognised as the fear of man, but little is spoken of it in today's Church.

I believe, this alone prevents so many of us Christians from growing in Spirit Truthfully.

For I believe it is one of the most powerful single cultivators of  Spiritual unbelief in the Church.

It would do us well to realise that Jesus was not hampered by this as we are & it is that fact alone that made Him to be seen as "a radical" to the eyes of men.

Let us be reminded, that if we call ourselves a Christian, then we are declaring ourselves a Follower of Christ.

Are we?

ISSUE 040:   Draw Nigh Unto Me ….. Part 38
Issued: 12th December 2017

Defaced - Part 38

So what then is the foundational basis of a true Christian - A true follower of Christ?


The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5 Verses 16-21 KJV that:
16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Now let us read & soak into our souls a well-known Commentary on these very verses of Scripture.

Reference Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible [Paraphrased]
In these verses, the apostle mentions two things that are necessary to our living to Christ, both of which are the consequences of Christ’s dying for us; namely, regeneration and reconciliation.

I. REGENERATION.
Regeneration consists of two things; namely,

1. Weanedness or our detachment from worldly things as verse 16 says:"Wherefore henceforth we know no man after the flesh,"

We should no longer own or affect any person or thing in this world for our carnal ends and outward advantage: for we are now enabled, by divine grace, not to mind nor regard this world, nor the things of this world, but to live above it.

For now, the love of Christ is in our hearts, and the world is now under our feet.
Note: Good Christians must enjoy the comforts of this life, and their relations in this world, with a holy indifference.

Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet, says the apostle, we know him no more.

It is questioned whether Paul had seen Christ in the flesh, however, the rest of the apostles had, and so might some among those he was now writing to.

However, he would not have them value themselves upon that account; for even the bodily presence of Christ is not to be desired nor doted upon by his disciples.

We must liveupon his spiritual presence, and the comfort it affords to us.
Note: Those who make images of Christ, and use them in their worship, do not take the way that God has appointed for strengthening their faith and quickening their affections; for it is the will of God that we should not know Christ anymore after the flesh.

2. A thorough change of heart.
For if any man be in Christ, if any man be a Christian indeed, and will approve himself such, he is, or he must be, a new creature, v. 17.
 
Some read it, let him be a new creature.

This ought to be the care of all who profess the Christian faith, that they be new creatures; not only that they have a new name, and wear a new livery, but that they have a new heart and new nature.

And so great is the change the grace of God makes in the soul, that, as it follows, old things are passed away —old thoughts, old principles, and old practices, are passed away; and all these things must become new.
Note: Regenerating grace creates a new world in the soul; all things are new.

I. The renewed man acts from new principles, by new rules, with new ends, and innew company.
II. Reconciliation, which is here spoken of under a double notion: 1. As an unquestionable privilege, verse 18 & verse 19.

Reconciliation supposes a quarrel, or breach of friendship; and sin has made a breach, it has broken the friendship between God and man.

The heart of the sinner is filled with enmity against God, and God is justly offended with the sinner.

Yet, behold, there may be a reconciliation; the offended Majesty of heaven is willing to be reconciled.

And observe:
1. He has appointed the Mediator of reconciliation.

He has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, v.18.
God is to be owned from first to last in the undertaking and performance of the Mediator.

All things relating to our reconciliation by Jesus Christ are of God, who by the mediation of Jesus Christ has reconciled the world to himself.

Thus he put himself into a capacity of being actually reconciled to offenders.

Without any wrong or injury to his justice or holiness, and does not impute to men their trespasses.

But rather he recedes from the rigour of the first covenant, which was broken, and does not insist upon the advantage he might justly take against us for the breach of that covenant.

Being now willing to enter into a new treaty, and into a new covenant of grace, and, according to the tenure thereof, freely to forgive us all our sins, and justify freely by his grace all those who do believe.


2. RECONCILIATION
He has appointed the Ministry of Reconciliation (v. 18.)

1. By the inspiration of God the scriptures were written, which contain the word of reconciliation, showing us that peace was made by the blood of the cross, that reconciliation is wrought, and directing us how we may be interested therein.

And he has appointed the office of the ministry, which is a ministry of reconciliation: ministers are to open and proclaim to sinners the terms of mercy and reconciliation, and persuade them to comply therewith.

2. Reconciliation is here spoken of as our indispensable duty, v. 20. As God is willing to be reconciled to us, we ought to be reconciled to God.

And it is the great end and design of the gospel, that word of reconciliation, to prevail upon sinners to lay aside their enmity against God.

Faithful ministers are Christ’s ambassadors, sent to treat [present or represent] with sinners on peace and reconciliation.

They come in God’s name, with his appeals, to act in Christ’s stead, doing the very thing he did when he was upon this earth, and what he wills to be done now that he is in heaven.

Wonderful condescension!

Though God can be no loser by the quarrel, nor gainer by the peace, yet by his ministers he beseeches sinners to lay aside their enmity, and accept of the terms he offers, that they would be reconciled to him, to all his attributes, to all his laws, and to all his providences, to believe in the Mediator, to accept the atonement, and comply with his gospel, in all the parts of it and in the whole design of it.

And for our encouragement so to do the apostle subjoins what should be well known and duly considered by us (v. 21).

(1.) The purity of the Mediator: He knew no sin.

(2.) The sacrifice he offered: He was made sin; not a sinner, but sin, that is, a sin-offering, a sacrifice for sin.

(3.) The end and design of all this: that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, might be justified freely by the grace of God through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.

[2.] Our reconciliation to God is only through Jesus Christ, and for the sake of his merit:

[1.] As Christ, who knew no sin of his own, was made sin for us, so we, who have no righteousness of our own, are made the righteousness of God in him.
So let us therefore note:on him therefore we must rely, and make mention of his righteousness and his only.